Bees, Friends and Splitting Hives – Summer 2021

Our friends at Humble Bee Honey live down the street. They often keep a number of hives on the farm seasonally. It is always fun to visit with them when they come to take care of their yard. This day they were making new hives. The bees multiply in number and can outgrow their bee boxes. The beekeepers place a new box on top of the hive and the bees migrate to the top. The smoke used helps to calm the bees and make them more chill. Warmth of the original hive in the bottom box keeps the top box warm. Once enough bees have moved upstairs a barrier is placed between the two boxes so the top bees cannot get back to the original hives. Later a queen is introduced to the new box and the hive is formed. If the beekeepers didn’t do this the “new hive” would still form and likely swarm. This means when the hive outgrows their home they would leave the box in search of a new home. Have you ever seen a swarm? If we see a swarm of hundreds to thousands of bees in a tree, or on the side of our house you better believe we are calling Erica and Ronnie at Humble Bee to come catch it.